


Moving Memories

by Swlfangirl



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale siblings, Christmas Fluff, Dead Hale Parents, Gift Exchange, Give the Sheriff a steak!, Grown up!Sterek, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Spark!Stiles, Stiles has a massive crush, Supernatural creatures are known, Sweet Derek, Were!Der, and a little angst but not bad, and second thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8839006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swlfangirl/pseuds/Swlfangirl
Summary: Just a story of how Stiles tries to woo Derek through the BHSD Secret Santa Exchange and how maybe it doesn't work out like he planned, or does it?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [haleofStilesheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleofStilesheart/gifts).



> This is for hale-of-stiles-heart, I hope it makes you smile a little and maybe makes your Christmas just a tad brighter. Xoxox

Merry Christmas @hale-of-stiles-heart! I hope you like it. <3  
  
  
  
  


 

“What-who did this?” Derek asks, his eyes almost frantically moving around the room.

 

Stiles swallows around the lump in his throat half terrified to take credit for the gift. It could really go either way and Derek’s face doesn’t lend itself to interpretation very often but there’s an almost wrecked look about him and Stiles isn’t sure he wants the attention anymore.

 

It had been a neat idea at first, wooing Derek through the Secret Santa gift exchange at the office. They’d been co-workers for a few years and since his five year plan to get Hale to notice him had etched up to another five, he was kind of hoping this would put him on the fast track. Now though, he’s afraid he’s gone too far.

 

When Stiles had drawn Derek’s name, he’d imagined it as some sign from the universe. It had taken him a few days because it wasn’t like Derek was easy to buy for, not on the ten dollar limit they’d set at least. So he thought outside the box. What could _he_ give Derek that nobody else could? It was a rewatch of Harry Potter that inevitably inspired him and Stiles used his spark to create a group of moving memories featuring Derek’s parents that he lost in the fire nearly twenty years ago. It wasn’t really that hard, he just had to collect the memories and even then, it was only his time he was giving. The frame was in the five dollar bin at walmart.

 

“Who did this?” He says again, his eyes flashing red. It prompts Jordan moving closer with a hand to his shoulder to ask him if he’s okay.

 

Immediately Stiles feels the warm buttery tingling sensation in his gut drop out completely. Derek seems hurt or maybe angry and this is going downhill so fast that Stiles’ head is spinning. He knows he needs to move forward to take credit for it before Derek can take out any of his frustration on anyone else but his feet aren’t moving and for the first time, maybe ever, neither are his lips.

 

Parrish escorts Derek into the break room as Stiles watches, helplessly frozen in place.

* * *

 

Derek takes a few deep breaths, he knows he needs to calm down but the image of his mother smiling in the warm California sun is playing over in his mind and he can’t quite seem to manage it. Twenty years of having no photos, no videos, nothing, of all their physical memories being destroyed by fire; leaving only the ones in their minds and even _those_ have gotten cloudy with time. He wasn’t sure he’d been giving his mother the right nose or his father the right shade of green in his eyes. Now though, now he can see it, playing out in a picture frame in front of him.

 

Supernatural creatures have been out for about five years now but not everyone or every _thing_ has decided to come out of the shadows so if there’s a witch, wizard, or some other type of magic user in the department Derek honestly has no idea who it might be. He hasn’t been close enough to anyone that gives off a hint of ozone and the peppery scent of magic that makes his nose itch.

 

Derek makes a mental check list of all the people that took part in the exchange and still he can’t think of anyone who could have done this. He considers Parrish himself but his surprise was genuine as was his fairly obvious coming out as a Hellhound a few years back. He thinks of Tara and Janice and knows it’s neither. There’s his betas who would give him something like this if only they had the power, maybe they paid someone...but no, no they wouldn’t do that.

 

Just when he’s about to give up, Derek hears an awkward clearing of a throat and there’s Stiles looking guilty as hell and his knees almost give out.

 

_Stiles, of course._

 

Now it’s so obvious, Derek doesn’t know why he didn’t know right away.

 

‘Y-you did this, of course you were the one,” Derek says, awestruck with both gratitude and affection.

 

“Yeah, sorry if it was too-,” he starts, but Derek cuts him off quickly.

 

“No it’s..I don’t know what to say, Stiles...I can’t ever repay you for this...I-” The words get caught his throat as he tries to continue, overwhelmed with emotion. Derek doesn’t think he’s ever felt so much, at least not so much happiness. There were a dozen different situations where he thought he’d finally break under his grief, guilt, agony, but nothing this light, this good...not since he was old enough to remember.

 

‘Oh, so you’re not… I mean I thought I might have overstepped, you kinda looked a little grrr earlier,” Stiles answers, toeing his shoe further in the doorway before taking a hesitant stride toward him.

 

“You don’t have to-I’m not expecting anything, man… I just, it was easy and I thought it might be something you would like.” Stiles shrugs as if what he’s accomplished wasn’t only a feat of extraordinary power and consideration, but also the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.

 

“Stiles this isn’t...it’s not _nothing_ , this is precious. Since the fire we haven’t-” the growl of Derek’s voice begins to take over and he has to calm himself down again before he can continue. “We lost it all, _everything_.”

 

“Oh-I didn’t know...I just, I mean my dad’s got a pretty good eye for details and his memory is as sharp as mine and I - he uh, he was happy to help-you could even say he did most of the work,” he says,  moving closer as his hands gesture wildly.

 

Stiles is floundering, his lips are moving a mile a minute and Derek doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything more beautiful in that moment. He’s had a thing for Stiles, a fuzzy itch in the back of his mind that he’s ignored for the better part of Stiles’ adult life, but now, he just..he looks so damn earnest that it’s almost painful. Derek’s heart clenches at the sight of it and before he knows what he’s doing he’s made it those few small feet between them and he’s pulled Stiles against him. Stiles’ lithe frame fitting into his arms perfectly in the embrace.

 

“Thank you. I can’t thank you enough for this...I’m sure Laura and Cora will feel the same way,” Derek says, burying his nose into the crook of Stiles neck until he’s moved well beyond the acceptable time for a platonic hug.

 

“Seriously, its-okay it’s kind of a big deal, but y’know, Merry Christmas, dude.”

 

“Don’t call me dude,” Derek says, sniffling into Stiles skin before he wipes his cheeks off on the sleeve of his henley and pulls away.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Stiles says, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

 

“I honestly don’t know why I even try,” Derek answers, but it’s playful and teasing in a way that his voice wouldn’t have allowed for only moments earlier. He’s still mostly overwhelmed by everything going on inside his head and the warmth in his chest but he does what he can to keep himself in check.

 

“If I’d known that Hale hugs were so good I might have tried to score one sooner,” he smirks, his crooked Stiles’ smile making Derek’s heart audibly skip beats. It’s as cliche as hell but when he actually has to listen to it happen, it isn’t like he can ignore it. Not that he wants to. Derek’s done ignoring what Stiles does to him. At least if he doesn’t have to, he won’t.

 

“You should drop by, let me make you dinner sometime,” he says, but he can feel Stiles backing away.

 

“No, Derek you don’t… you don’t have to do that. I mean it’s a nice offer but I told you, it’s just a Christmas gift...no need to like, repay me or whatever,” Stiles says, and it’s clear that Derek has done something to make him feel uncomfortable. “You don’t owe me anything.”

 

_Oh, that’s all._

 

“Stiles I’m not asking you out as some sort of reimbursement...I just, seeing those pictures, seeing my parents together, smiling, it reminds me of what I’m missing and I just thought maybe you were missing it too…” Derek says, his voice softer than he expects. He honestly wasn’t planning to have to convince Stiles of his sincerity but he will if necessary. Derek knows that he’ll ask Stiles out every day if he has to, as long as there’s a chance he might want to say yes someday.

 

“I dunno… I mean I think maybe you should think on it?” Stiles says, chewing on his perfect pink lip.

 

“I’m the one that asked you, aren’t you the one who needs to think on it?” Derek says, a small hint of a smile curving the corner of his mouth up.

 

“Well, normally I guess but I just think maybe with y’know, everything,” Stiles says, his hand gesturing toward the place where Derek had laid the precious gift. “You might be a little...overwhelmed.”

 

“So you think I’m what...drunk on happiness, or memories, or something like that?” Derek asks, a little chuckle escaping his lips.

 

“I dunno, but I just think maybe you feel…”

 

“I feel a lot of things right now, Stiles. I’m not gonna lie. But, if it will reassure you, how about I ask you again tomorrow? Or should I wait longer?” Derek asks, inching closer to Stiles as he speaks.

 

“Uh- y-yeah, that, that would work… just y’know sleep on it,” the last three words barely a breath against Derek’s lips as he guides Stiles back into his arms, lining their mouths up perfectly.

 

It’s just a small press, a whisper of a kiss but it displays his intentions well enough that Derek pulls himself back quickly.

 

Okay, I’ll do just that. See ya’ tomorrow, Stiles,” he finishes, picking up the picture frame as gently as he can and walking back out into the chaos of the bullpen as he makes his way outside. For the first time in a long time, Derek’s eager to get to bed.

 

He’s got some sleeping to do.

* * *

 

Stiles wakes up with a small twinge of pain behind his eyes. He’d fallen into a pit of self loathing once Derek left. The guy seemed determined to ask him out again but there was a guilty flare low in Stiles’ gut that made it nearly impossible for him to accept.

 

Sure, when he’d started thinking up gift ideas for Derek, and wooing him through said ideas, Stiles imagined Derek swooning an being so grateful he wanted to repay Stiles with a kiss. But seeing how much it had actually affected him was something else entirely. Derek wasn’t just happy he was wrecked. It apparently had been a bigger deal than he could have possibly imagined. For some reason Stiles had just kind of assumed that there were others, other photos, videos, _something_ . But the look on Derek’s face and the tremor in his voice when he said they’d lost _everything_ , guilt settled in his stomach and he knew it had been too much.

 

Now, Stiles is nursing the mild hangover he brought on himself through the half a dozen beers and the few swigs of jack he’d had when he got home. He could use his magic to heal it quicker than an Aspirin, but he won’t. He made a promise to himself and silently to his father that he’d always feel the side effects of drinking, never wanting to make it habit.  So he’ll suffer a little longer, but he isn’t stupid enough to put off popping the aspirin in as soon as his eyes will open properly.

 

He fumbles his way through his morning routine, shower, coffee, and a small breakfast before he’s slipping into his uniform and hopping in the cruiser to head to the station. When he gets there everything seems normal but something is definitely off. As soon as he’s pushed through the door he finds nobody waiting at the front desk, the bullpen is also pretty clear. He’s just about to reach for his walkie when he spots his dad’s back heading toward the conference room.

 

“Dad? Yo, Dad!” Stiles shouts, but his father doesn’t turn around, instead the door pulls together loudly behind him.

 

‘ _What the hell’_ he says to himself, clipping his walkie back on his belt and moving into the conference room where everyone seems to be huddled. There’s only half a dozen deputies on shift, but there’s at least double that many people spread out into the fairly small room where they do debriefings on the bigger cases.

 

Stiles opens the door to find a variety of people smiling at him as Derek steps out into the front.

 

“Uh...what’s going on?” he asks, feeling a shiver of anticipation and maybe a little anxiety creeping up his spine.

 

“Well, you weren’t sure that I was sincere about my intentions last night, so I brought some people  who might help you get the picture; Laura, you wanna go first?”

 

“You got it baby, bro.” Laura says, a wide grin on her face as she moves to stand beside Derek.

 

‘When you two idiots-”

 

“Laura,” Derek growls,”

 

“Ugh, fine. When you and my _idiot brother_ met, all I heard was this constant stream of stories about some annoying dork that played conjoined twin to McCall’s hip,” Derek makes another growling sound but Laura just smirks and ignores him. “I didn’t really think anything of it for a while but a few months later it was Stiles this, Stiles that, I don’t know how he did it but Stiles held me up for hours in the pool while lizard boy watched from the corner..”

 

Derek lets out a small huff, and Laura rolls her eyes but apparently moves closer to her point.

 

“Basically, if Derek’s constant manpain confessions are anything to go by, he’s been gone on your for years," she finishes with a smirk.

 

“Close enough,” Derek says, pushing Laura gently back toward the corner, the tips of his ears bright pink.

 

“Who here has put money down on when we'll get together?” Derek asks, his smile a little sheepish as everyone in the station raises their hand.

 

“Dad, _seriously?_ ” Stiles balks.

 

The sheriff shrugs, an easy grin on his face. “Don’t even start...I had yesterday but you screwed me out of.. What’s the total now Boyd?”

 

“Three hundred- fifty bucks,” comes a deep rustle in the back.

 

“Ah, hell that’s three hundred-fifty bucks, Stiles. Do you even know how many celebratory steaks that would buy?” John groans, laughing as Stiles feels a heat snaking up his back.

 

“Who had money on today?” Derek asks, again and nobody raises their hand but Boyd’s smooth baritone sounds again.

 

“The next closest bet’s New Years, So if it’s today the sheriff wins,” he says, while everyone else goes wild on him for saying it aloud.

 

Derek moves closer to him, reaches a hand out and Stiles somehow finds the nerve to grab it with his own. “Stiles I know what you think this is, I know you’re worried that I feel indebted to you because you gave me something priceless, something I never thought I’d have. But the truth is, I’m asking you for not just one gift, but two. There is something else, _another_ priceless thing I didn’t think I’d ever have, but I want it, I want _you_ , Stiles. If you’ll have me?”

 

Stiles feels a little stunned but he covers it as best he can. As soon as his brain starts to work at full capacity again, Stiles rocks forward and locks his arms around Derek’s neck and pulls him in. “Yes! Yes, of course you idiot.”

 

Laura’s  “ _Told you,”_ chimes somewhere in the back but Stiles can’t hear it over the pounding of his chest in his ears as Derek lifts him off the floor and squeezes him into an even tighter hug.

 

“Sorry It took me so long to ask,” Derek says, pressing his lips to Stiles’ gently.

 

“It’s okay. I don’t mind waiting. as long as it’s for you,” Stiles answers, kissing the words into Derek’s mouth like he’s branding him with a promise. A promise that no matter how long their road is, or how difficult the path, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they make it out the other side. Together.


End file.
